Correspondence primarily concerning the efforts of the Women's League of University of Michigan to raise money for Palmer Field and for a women's dormitory at University of Michigan. Correspondents include: James B. Angell and Myrtle E. White; also photographs.
Group portraits of University of Michigan Class of 1909 and Law School Class of 1911 (some are of women only); also a photograph of the May Pole Dance, and various snapshots.
Frieda Kleinstuck (married name Blankenburg) was born on December 15, 1886 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Her parents were Carl G. Kleinstuck, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Germany, a farmer. Her mother Caroline (Hubbard) Kleinstuck (1855-1932) was the first woman to receive a Master of Science degree from the University of Michigan.
Frieda Kleinstuck earned her A.B. in 1909 from the University of Michigan, followed by a law degree from the University of Michigan Department of Law. As a U-M Women's League President, Kleinstuck was instrumental in raising funds for purchasing the "Sleepy Hollow" field. The field, renamed Palmer Field after Senator Thomas W. Palmer, a major donor, provided outdoor space for the U-M women athletes. Kleinstuck also successfully worked toward establishing a women's dormitory on U-M campus.
In 1911, she married Carl C. Blankenburg (1888-1974), her University of Michigan classmate. Frieda Kleinstuck Blankenburg was admitted to the bar in June 1911 and was readmitted for the next 50 years, however, she never practiced as an attorney.
In 1917, Kleinstuck Blankenburg was among the founders of the Kalamazoo County American Red Cross chapter. She served as its Chair and was on the Board of Directors until 1946. In 1932, Kleinstuck Blankenburg successfully ran for the Kalamazoo City Commission. She was the second woman in the city's history to hold that post. In 1946, Kleinstuck Blankenburg was elected a president of the Constance Brown Hearing Society. She also served as a chair of the Lucinda Hinsdale Stone chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She was active with the Kalamazoo Business and Professional Women's Club, Hillcrest Garden Club, Current Events Club, Ladies Library Association and the American Association of University Women. Kleinstuck Blankenburg was instrumental in establishing the Kalamazoo Child Guidance Clinic and was a member of the State Mental Health Commission and Michigan Children's Aid Society.
Frieda Kleinstuck Blankenburg passed away on January 22, 1963.
